I saw a YouTube video of a guy in Australia with a super tricked out PA. He had a RAM mount off the back lifting handle that held his Humminbird Side Imaging transducer. Does anyone else have this setup? Looks like it would give you the best image with the least interference. If you do have this setup what model RAM mount did you use? Does the turbulence from steering the rudder left and right cause issues with the readings?

I don't want an arm mounted on the side of my PA to hold the transducer but this setup looks like it would be perfect for me with it located off the stern. I'm looking to mount a Humminbird 587ci HD DI unit to the port mounting board also on a RAM mount.

I've seen what you're talking about with the Ram-mount and it's pretty sharp, but I'm hoping the method I came up with is going to be cheaper and just as effective. One of the sharpest things I've seen, though, was one of the guys in Oz or NZ machined a bung out of aluminum that screwed into one of the rear drain plug outlets on the Pro Angler and had the equivalent of a Ram ball mount on the other end, and you then just used a Ram arm and bracket for the transducer. It was very sharp.

Long as you don't drag your PA up onto a beach or anything, a rear mount would be a good choice. I would be concerned about it getting damaged though.

On that note, a rear mounted transducer, I've seen somewhere that they mounted their transducer to the rudder. The rudder folds up if it hits something and of course, stows out of the way when taken out of the water.

Good luck with your options and hope to see the final product. (BTW, I went with a shoot-through-the-hull well I installed for my transducer that works well, but was difficult to make water tight)

Those pics look great and is very similar to what I was thinking. I hadn't seen one where the RAM base was attached to the hull before. It would definitely work though.

I just can't see spending the money to get Down Imaging or Side Imaging and then not being able to make use of the technology by doing a thru hull mount. I may just have to engineer something to make this work. Sweet idea with running the cable through the drain plug!!

Regarding the rear mounted transducer, I have a buddy that I fish with often. He installed his at the rear using the ram system on the rear grab bar. Very clean install. The only issue I see, is he has had several instances where his lures...for what ever reason, gets tangled in the rig. If I wasn't there, he would have had to try to crawl to the rear and undo it himself. I was thinking about using that method until I saw how many times he got tangled up.

The times he got tangled he was trolling two lines. With one fish on, the other line got slack and drifted onto the transducer rig.

I was also concerned about incidents of weeds or tackle tangling if I mounted my transducer in the rear. As my 898 SI transducer needs to be mounted externally, I decided on a side arm mount. I crafted it out of aluminum flatbar and heatshrunk the transducer cable to it to avoid vibration and tangles, and used a RAM mount to easily position it once in the water, or for when transporting the PA. I will post up more pictures when I do my detailed write up.

I like the fact that when utilizing the arm (such as Harmony or homemade) the transducer is positioned practically under the angler's seat giving you a picture of what is truly under you. However, I would think the likely hood of getting a hooked fish fouled on the ducer would be greatly increased by mounting it this way. You would surely be able to untangle the mess if it was right beside you but that doesnt necessarily mean that you will land your fish either. Not too big of a deal when recreational fishing but in a tournament that could mean the difference between winning and taking home second place.

I like the fact that when utilizing the arm (such as Harmony or homemade) the transducer is positioned practically under the angler's seat giving you a picture of what is truly under you. However, I would think the likely hood of getting a hooked fish fouled on the ducer would be greatly increased by mounting it this way. You would surely be able to untangle the mess if it was right beside you but that doesnt necessarily mean that you will land your fish either. Not too big of a deal when recreational fishing but in a tournament that could mean the difference between winning and taking home second place.

I would agree with you, but having it beside you may give you a fighting chance at untangling the mess rather that getting access to the rear and falling off in the midst. This is why I used the RAM mount as it could easily swing up rather than hard mounting it.

Nice to see that if you had a PA12 this wouldn't be an issue any longer. Maybe future PA14s will have this new feature added.

I saw that new feature on the PA 12 but don't think it would help me much. I like my Humminbirds and while the Lowrance Scupper mount will work for some of the low end Humminbirds I don't think it would be compatible with DI and SI models. Don't quote me on that but I thought I read that it takes a specific transducer to perform those functions (I know it does for SI) vs. a traditional transducer.

Being that I'm a new PA owner, as of yesterday, I haven't had time to go over the boat completely to try and figure this all out. I would think if I didn't mind drilling a hole below the waterline that mounting my transducer near where the center "tube" and outside pontoon come together would raise the transducer up below where it would make contact with the bottom if grounded. I don't, however, like the idea of having those holes there which is why I was thinking of opting for a rear mounted unit. I would have thought this style to be much more popular than it is in the kayak world being that traditionally transducers were placed on the transom most boats.

I may have to get with a friend at a machine shop and see if we can duplicate one of the hull plugs to try and put a 1" RAM ball back there in it's place. That way I could run the wiring temporarily and if I don't like it I could go back to a different design.

mad frog gear makes the harmony ones got it from Canoe Country locally.mine is actually a harmony gear one, I was using it on my commander 140 before i switched to the hobie and remembered i had it when i was putting the FF on.

fish wrapped around a transducer arm, or a fish wrapped around a mirage drive...same difference...but never had one wrap around the arm, yet..but the mirage drive is a different story...

(ought to be fun untangling should it happen with a rear mounted one.hell, i've drifted over my line and got it all snagged up in my rudder...wanna talk about a mess!)

plus trying to figure out all the logistics for a rear mount. figuring out what type of mount to use, running cable, sealing holes (i'm not gonna take a chance and drill my drain plug and seal it incorrectly.)....gah!

A judicious application of sealant inside and out should insure no leakage. This is the 'ducer I'm expecting any day now. It'll fit easily between the mast post and the drive cutout. Yes, I'll photo the install and post results.